The six core Confucian of East Asian

Confucianism is based on philosophical ethical and social concepts rather than religious ones. Several scholars have researched the topics and developed various definitions, including ""social religion"" and ""diffused religion" (Lo 39-42). Master Kong founded Confucianism with no intention of upsetting the Zhou dynasty's existing system of ancient beliefs. Many years after its inception, Confucianism was thought to play an important role in promoting economic progress in the East Asian region. More specifically, the Four Little Dragons, which comprise Singapore, Korea, Hong Kong, and China, profited the most. Confucianism was built on several core concepts which include Chi, Yi, Chun-Tzu, Jen, Li, and Tsiao. However, it is worth noting that Confucianism is believed to be anchored on the major twin concepts of Li and Jen.
The concept of Jen, pronounced as 'wren', concentrates on the ideas of human-heartedness, which make people coexist peacefully as they show their humanity. Some of the ideas concentrated at this level are benevolence, goodness, and the man-to-man doctrine. It is from Jen that other virtues emanate from as perceived by Confucius. He further argued that he never saw the concept expressed fully. Every individual who practiced Confucian believes was supposed to preserve the ideas stipulated in the concept of Jen regardless of the cost implication. The sacrifice was an integral part of ensuring that human dignity is preserved. Jen was supposed to apply equally to all men and serve as the foundation of all relationships. Confucian concluded by presenting the idea that people should always ensure they extend the Jen to others.
The concept of Li entails a concrete guide to all human actions. Among the key pillars of ensuring the guide is successful are order, benefit and the principle of gain. Li is broadly perceived as encompassing two major ideas in its definition. The first one is the guide and rules to the right actions which should conform to the provision of Jen. The second idea revolves around the social order and the best principles to be adopted in guaranteeing a peaceful co-existence. Confucius argued that for Wren to be expressed in the society, there is a great need to ensure there is order. In the guide to human relationships, he underscored the idea of first sense which stipulates the way things should be done in the society. Besides, openness was reinforced the good relationship and interactions between people. The openness was possible through the mean doctrine, names' reification and the five factors of relationships. The five relationships that involve the family include husband and wife, father and son, elder brother and a younger brother, ruler and subjects as well as older friend and younger friend. Confucian emphasized that age is a very important aspect of humans and respect should always be accorded with it.
Another aspect of Li is the observance of social order. Members of every society are advised to conform to the societal norms that are anchored on the concept of Jen. Besides, people are advised to always consider that their actions affect the lives of others hence questioning the idea of individualism. As a concept, Li provided a clear guideline on the right form of behavior to avoid anarchy. If people were left to exercise their rights without limitations, then there would be many instances of gross misconduct anchored on the egocentrism.
The concept of Yi was about the righteousness which entails the moral desire always to do good. The concept is intricately intertwined with Jen and work in unison. Confucian argued that an immoral society had a bad social, economic and social fabric. Every member, according to the doctrine, is supposed to tell the difference between good and bad as well as right and wrong. Provided with a myriad of choices, an individual is always supposed to pick those actions that promote the greatest social good. Under the Yi concept, is the idea of chi which is anchored on wisdom. The wisdom is acquired through intuition, an aspect that involves a deep meditation. Confucian also discussed the concept of impersonal ego, a concept that is related to Freudian ideas under the super-ego in the psychosexual theory. The impersonal ego is supposed to be learned from the values that people learn from culture. Yi also entailed the performance of actions that are driven by the need to do the right thing regardless of the outcomes. Confucian considered righteousness as entailing doing the right thing without considering the consequences or the intention of the act. It is worth noting that Yi is different from stoicism and the concept of utilitarianism which focuses on the consequences of the free will.
The Yi concept is almost similar to the Kantian ethics of duty. Kant considered the best action as being guided by the good in itself instead of the being a means to the end (Hofstede & Michael 15-18). Because of the close association between Yi and Jen, a person who is not keen enough cannot tell the difference between the two. The "Four Little Dragon" built their culture based on this doctrine which helped them to have social stability, an important factor determines the success of the economic field.
Hsiao is another concept that focused on the filial piety. Closely associated with Hsiao is the idea of reverence. Confucius urged people to one their parents because they are revered as the source of life (Goldin 56-57). For one to grow to adulthood, great sacrifices are done by the caregivers to ensure that all the basic needs are provided for the development of the child. Everybody is urged to ensure that they carry on with the success of the family and make the name proud. Any actions that do not promote respect and honor for the family should be avoided. Just like the parents, the Hsiao concept also entailed the respect of those individuals who have sacrificed a lot to make our lives better. Besides the respect, Confucius also emphasized on the need to give the parents and caregivers the spiritual and emotional support when they undergo tough times in life. As a way of giving back, Hsiao concept also underscores the importance of enriching the spiritual aspect of the people with reverence. All these aspects ensure that children needs reflect the goals and the values of their parents when they die. Whenever the values of the children are different from their parents, the resulting gap can be a source of conflict and it, therefore, importance to keep the changes in the society at check. Due to the emphasis on the family life, Jen is therefore linked tp Hsiao.
The need to fully internalize the concept of Hsiao is important because the respect and the reverence should later be extended to people like friends and importance members of the society. If a person does not show respect at the family level, then it becomes difficult to have a stable social fabric when everybody is concerned with the self. According to Confucius, the manner in which an individual respects the members of the society is important because it is used to predict the nature and the characteristics of a person.
The concept of Chih is built on moral wisdom. The concept was added and built upon by Mencius who was idealistic in his reasoning. Mencius was influenced by Confucius' ideas and developed the idea of people being born as being naturally good. The idea is the same as that of tabula rasa that was anchored on the belief that the human mind is a blank slate. The ability to tell the difference between what is right and wrong depends on the content that the mind has been feed with. Mencius considered man as being a moral animal and with the capability of doing good cause of the natural, innate nature that guide behavior. Mencius made important contributions to the philosophy of Confucianism by giving more explanations to the origin of evil because people are not supposed to be guided by malevolent drives. He argued that due to the need for survival, external forces push a person to do evil. Culture and society is also guided by anarchic rules making it be in disarray hence making it difficult to be always moral because it places one at a disadvantage. The origin of evil was also attribute to the lack of knowledge. Mencius considered people as lacking knowledge as being unable to identify the various options at hand when confronted with a challenging situation. Knowledge is necessary for the development of feelings and creative ideas to guide the course of action.
Chun-Tzu considered man as being a gentle person who is also superior in nature. The concept underscored the need the need to face any challenge in life without fear because the intelligence is necessary to guarantee survival. In order to achieve Chun-Tzu, a person has to observe all the requirements of Jen. Personal relationships were an important factor that was supposed to the course of action at the level of thinking, studying and thinking. The Confucius concept further emphasized on the values of rectitude, decorum, kindness, sincerity, and wisdom. The observance of all these concepts not only promoted the economic growth of the Asian countries but also but also ensured that peace prevailed because of the promotion of doctrines that encourage a form of a brotherhood principle.






Works Cited
Hofstede, Geert, and Michael Harris Bond. "The Confucius connection: From cultural roots to economic growth." Organizational dynamics 16.4 (1988): 15-18.
Goldin, Paul R. After Confucius: Studies in Early Chinese Philosophy. University of Hawai'i/Hawai 'i Press, 2017: 56-57.
Lo, Lung-Kwong. "The nature of the issue of ancestral worship among Chinese Christians." Studies in World Christianity 9.1 (2003): 39-41.